List of Famous people born in United States of America
Mike E. Smith
Michael Earl Smith is an American jockey who has been one of the leading riders in U.S. Thoroughbred racing since the early 1990s, was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2003, and has won the most Breeders' Cup races of any jockey with 26 Breeders' Cup wins. Smith is also the second leading jockey of all time in earnings with over $312 million. In 2018, Smith rode Justify to the Triple Crown, becoming the oldest jockey to win the title at age 52.
Ari Aster
Ari Aster is an American film director and screenwriter known for Hereditary (2018) and Midsommar (2019).
Kevin Stefanski
Kevin Stefanski is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He began his NFL career as an assistant coach for the Minnesota Vikings from 2006 to 2019 and was the offensive coordinator during his final two seasons. Stefanski left Minnesota to become the Browns' head coach in 2020, where he led the team to their first playoff appearance since 2002.
Valerie Plame
Valerie Elise Plame Wilson, is an American writer, spy novelist, and former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer. As the subject of the 2003 Plame affair, also known as the CIA leak scandal, Plame's identity as a CIA officer was leaked to and subsequently published by Robert Novak of The Washington Post.
Obi Toppin
Obadiah Richard "Obi" Toppin Jr. is an American professional basketball player for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Dayton Flyers. Listed at 6 feet 9 inches (2.06 m) and 220 pounds (100 kg), he plays the power forward position.
Charles Koch
Charles de Ganahl Koch is an American billionaire businessman and philanthropist. As of March 2019, he was ranked as the 11th-richest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of $50.5 billion. Koch has been co-owner, chairman, and chief executive officer of Koch Industries since 1967, while his late brother David Koch served as executive vice president. Charles and David each owned 42% of the conglomerate. The brothers inherited the business from their father, Fred C. Koch, then expanded the business. Originally involved exclusively in oil refining and chemicals, Koch Industries now includes process and pollution control equipment and technologies, polymers and fibers, minerals, fertilizers, commodity trading and services, forest and consumer products, and ranching. The businesses produce a wide variety of well-known brands, such as Stainmaster carpet, the Lycra brand of spandex fiber, Quilted Northern tissue, and Dixie Cup.
Sterling Hayden
Sterling Walter Hayden was an American actor, author, sailor and decorated Marine Corps officer and OSS agent. A leading man for most of his career, he specialized in westerns and film noir throughout the 1950s, in films such as John Huston's The Asphalt Jungle (1950), Nicholas Ray's Johnny Guitar (1954), and Stanley Kubrick's The Killing (1956). He became noted for supporting roles in the 1960s, perhaps most memorably as General Jack D. Ripper in Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964).
Matt Lauria
Matthew "Matt" Lauria is an American actor and musician. He made his television debut on the NBC sitcom 30 Rock in 2007. He is best known for his roles as Luke Cafferty on the NBC/DirecTV drama Friday Night Lights, Ryan York on the NBC family drama Parenthood, and starred as Ryan Wheeler on the Audience drama Kingdom.
Carroll Baker
Carroll Baker is a retired American actress of film, stage, and television. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Baker's range of roles from young ingénues to brash and flamboyant women established her as both a pin-up and serious dramatic actress. After studying under Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio, Baker began performing on Broadway in 1954. From there, she was recruited by director Elia Kazan to play the lead in the adaptation of two Tennessee Williams plays into the film Baby Doll in 1956. Her role in the film as a coquettish but sexually naïve Southern bride earned her BAFTA and Oscar nominations for Best Actress, as well as a Golden Globe award for Most Promising Newcomer that year.
A. J. McLean
Alexander James McLean is an American singer, songwriter, actor, dancer, and model. He is a member of the vocal group the Backstreet Boys.